Re:Bill Ackman: give every American cash at birth so they ca...
by nodesocket on Wednesday December 09, 2020 @09:45PM
(#25369011)
Thanks for the thoughtful and honest reply. However don't you agree without US capitalism ($BIGTECH) you wouldn't be as financially successful? I.E. if you stayed in Finland what would you professional and financial situation be?
Re:Bill Ackman: give every American cash at birth so they ca...
by pavlov on Wednesday December 09, 2020 @11:00PM
(#25369522)
Yes, certainly. Although I was doing fine by Finnish standards working remotely for a foreign startup and doing a bunch of other stuff, with a great degree of freedom. It wasn’t a bad life.
There are many things to admire about American capitalism. When I was growing up in the ‘80s, it held an almost mythical appeal. But reinvention is also part of the American myth, and it might be time for another round of that.
I'm originally from Finland. Now that I've been living in America for a while, I can compare both.
The modest success I've had in life is largely thanks to Finland's safety net and accessible opportunities. I received free college education in a specialist field (film post-production).
When I started a little software startup in said field, the Finnish government gave me small grants and loans to help me along. I didn't have to worry about healthcare during those "ramen profitable" years. The company wasn't a big success by any measure, but it helped me build a network.
Thanks to so-called socialism, I didn't have student debt and didn't need rich relatives to go into business on my own. But that's not a story that fits the American idea of entrepreneurship, I guess.
Although my current job at $BIGTECH pays well, the expenses are also calibrated very differently. Preschool for my kid costs close to $3k/month, which is more than 10x what anyone pays in Finland. The quality of the education is similar. I plan to move back to Finland when the kids are a bit older. It's just a more stable place to raise a family.